Celebrating Literacy for Everyone

Main menu

Scarlet in the Snow

Sophie Masson

Random House Australia

ISBN: 9781742758152

RRP: $17.95

Age: 12+

Key Words: Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Fairy Tales

Published: 1st May 2013

Reviewer: Kylie Calwell

Natasha and her family have fallen on hard times, they aren’t living in the manner her sisters want to be. With her mother doing what she can to provide Natasha steps out to help. Then she gets caught in a blizzard, just when she thinks she is out of options she stumbles across a mansion. It’s a strange place, beautiful and mysterious, with no-one seemingly around. However when she reaches out to touch a perfect flower her life is changed forever.

The master of the house is caught in a spell but that doesn’t stop him demanding vengeance for her act. She comes to see she may be the one to break this spell, to uncover the mystery, but before she can everything changes again. If she is to have a chance at the love she thinks she could have then she has to outsmart a powerful sorcerer and get to the bottom of Beast’s unknown history.

A wonderful take on a couple of Russian fairytales, obviously one of which is Beauty and the Beast. Natasha is a generous, brave character. She has an inner strength that enables her to face the problems her family have and the terrifying situation she finds herself in. She is smart and determined, thinking her way through the obstacles in front of her.

The world Masson has created is wondrous, enchanting, it simply sweeps you up into itself. It’s a white, icy landscape, cold in so many ways, the perfect juxtaposition to the warmth of the story at it’s heart. If you love fairytales, romance, engaging characters and a bit of mystery thrown in for good measure, then give this a shot.

Actually if you just want to be swept away somewhere else for a few hours then pick this up, I read it in one sitting, staying up late into the night to finish it.